Wednesday, March 1, 2017

The 5th Annual Michael Fassbender Birthday Fundraiser!

For the fifth year, Fassinating Fassbender is the proud sponsor of The Annual Michael Fassbender Birthday Fundraiser in support of the wonderful work of The Bike Experience. Michael will turn 40 years old on April 2 and it's my hopes that we can raise a record amount of money and surpass the goal! Since 2013, we have raised just over £4,400, and this year, our goal is to add at least another £1000 to that amount. Each year it is a challenge to raise money and my belief has always been that any amount raised is a good amount raised, and we should be proud of ourselves for doing as well as we have. Certainly, The Bike Experience appreciates our support and at the bottom of this blog post, I share with you an update from Talan, the founder of TBE, which explains how your donation is used to allow the charity to flourish over the years.

Unlike previous years, I am going to withhold until the end, what this year's raffle prize will be. I don't want it to be a distraction, or an enticement just to get people to participate. You will make a donation on your own volition because you simply want to support the cause. Many donors will be repeat donors from the past 5 years, and some of you will be first time donors. I and TBE welcome you all to donate whatever you can. As usual, the fundraiser starts today, Wednesday, March 1, and it will end at 6 pm PST on Friday, March 31. So we have a full month to make our goal and really show Michael and The Bike Experience that Team Fassinating Fassbender wishes Michael a great 40th birthday, and to help TBE continue to provide a life changing motorcycle riding experience for disabled persons.

There have been some slight changes/upgrades with Just Giving since last year's fundraiser, and one noticeable difference is the donation option. You can donate using your Paypal account now! I made my donation and it went through without a problem. Previously, even I had to call my bank to get approval to allow my card to be processed via Just Giving, but this year, you won't have that headache, just click the Paypal link, or if you prefer, you can still use your credit or debit card.

Please click the link below to make your donation. The same button will be located at the top of the sidebar as well.

Here is the summary from Talan on The Bike Experience's successes last season, and their goals for 2017 - all due to fundraisers held by teams like FF. Thanks everyone, let's make this a big year!

The Bike Experience review
2016

The Bike Experience season ran from
April 2016 to October 2016. It has proven to be another very successful year in
getting disabled/injured riders back on a motorcycle.

During the course of the 2016
season, the instructional days were designed to have six riders attending a
single day. This was managed by the careful division of use of the
instructional area and the increase in number of TBE Instructors and core TBE
Volunteers. A total of 77 places were taken by disabled riders, with 50
different riders (as some came more than once).

This season there were three events
at Donington, these events were paid for and manned by Bennetts Bike Insurers.
The area is an ideal size for the riding of motorcycles on the Experience, and
the Launch Pad Building is a great indoor facility to allow for briefing,
relaxation and changing. In addition there were three events at RAF ODIHAM and
six events at Silverstone Circuit. The charity had three
fund-raising/demonstration events - Prescott Bike Festival, F1 and MotoGP
at Silverstone Woodlands Campsite.

The charity had its first corporate
or group day. This was organised through Silver Linings and the group brought
along 14 clients with various levels of disability, but all having some form of
acquired brain injury. Although only a small number actually managed to ride
independently, all had an experience of being around motorcycles again, sitting
on them, watching and sharing the day. This is an area that the charity will
look into for the 2017 season, in addition to regular TBE events.

The charity would like to thank all
those who have supported the 2016 season, through financial contributions,
pieces of equipment, maintenance of equipment, volunteering at TBE events,
fundraising, increased awareness, social media and support of riders. Without
all those working together, the charity would not be in a position to operate
and continue to offer the life changing experiences to so many.

Looking ahead to 2017

The charity will seek to have 13
instructional events as per each season, as well as introducing some specific
group days similar to the specific Silver Linings event at Silverstone. For
increasing awareness of the charity there are three demonstration events
already booked - Prescott Bike Festival, Tandragee100 Road Race (Northern
Ireland), Donington Endurance Legends.

We are also creating a Virtual
Reality Bike that can be taken to SCI centres/rehab centres/groups. This will
take the form of a CBR954RR on a plinth, with a screen or headset. The client
will be assisted to sit on the bike, or next to it and have the sensation of
being taken around a track. There will also be the interaction between the
motorcycle controls and the computer simulation, so the client can be
responsible for part or full control of the motorcycle.

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For Your Information

June 3, 2018: After nearly 10 years, Fassinating Fassbender has ceased production of articles covering Michael Fassbender. For the next few years or so, this blog will remain for archival purposes. If you have any questions please email Simone, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, at simonetvc@gmail.com. Future articles will be featured about Michael at my Theatre of Zen blog.

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